It is well known in the feeding of animals, especially hogs, to provide a feeding hopper having downwardly converging sides terminating at a feed opening through which feed descends by gravity to a shelf spaced below the opening and so fashioned that the feed is intercepted by the shelf and lies on the shelf at an angle of repose and thus does not fall directly to a trough beneath the shelf. In some prior feeders, animal-actuated means is used to move the feed from the shelf to the trough. In other feeders, reliance is placed on the animal to sweep the feed off the shelf with its snout. In still other feeders, the animal is able to eat dry feed directly from the shelf and has the further choice of eating wet feed from the trough by means of animal-actuated watering means that discharge directly into the trough.
There are several schools of thought as to how hogs should be fed, considering weight gain, elapsed time, etc., with respect to marketing the best animals. According to the present invention, the feeding system is designed to enable the hogs to eat dry feed and to obtain drinking water from means enabling the animal to drink directly from a nipple or fitting so arranged that the water does not discharge directly into the feed in the trough. The arrangement is such that the hogs do not eat directly rom the shelf beneath the hopper but rather must brush or sweep the feed off to the trough. This avoids wetting of the feed on the shelf and thus eliminates clogging of the hopper discharge by caked feed. Further, it can be shown that an animal will not eat as much if he has to go elsewhere for water, as to a location remote from the feeder It is important that the animal obtain clean drinking water, rather than water mixed with feed obtained from the trough. Also, while the animal searched elsewhere for water, he loses feed which drops from his mouth.
A further feature of the invention is to design the shelf so as to prevent the animal from closing his jaws on the shelf, thereby preventing direct feeding from the shelf. A still further feature is the provision of means for regulating the size of the feed opening and thus the amount of discharge to the shelf. Still further, the water fittings are arranged at angles convenient to animals so as to facilitate direct drinking from the nipples.
Further features and advantages will appear as a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.